Jerry W. Rudy, Office: Muen D344 Office Hours: By appointment Phone: 303-492-3306 Email: Jrudy@.colorado.edu

Course Description

The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

Neuroscience 4032/5032 Fall, 2011

Jerry W. Rudy

Professor

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PROFESSOR Jerry W. Rudy, Office: Muen D344 Office Hours: By appointment Phone: 303-492-3306 Email: Jrudy@.colorado.edu

Course Description

As a scientific enterprise, the field of learning and memory has existed for a little over 100 years. For about the first 80 years, this field was essentially the sole province of experimental/cognitive psychologists. However, in the last 20 years the methods and concepts of biology and its sub-discipline, neuroscience, have been increasingly applied to the study of learning and memory. Scientists working in this multidiscipline field have produced a staggering amount of information about where and how experience leaves its mark on the brain, and new discoveries are made every week. So, we now have an exciting field that can be called the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. I created this course to introduce you to the methods, facts and concepts that are central to this field. This was a challenging task because it requires the integration of psychological methods, facts, and theory with the methods, facts and concept of neuroscience. The primary goal of this field of science is to reduce personal experience to brain products. It is fundamentally about where and how the brain stores the wealth of experiences that make us what we are as individuals. The Textbook and Lectures The textbook, The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, is the core of the course. It presents everything you need to know with the exception of a several supplements that cover new material presented in the lectures be The lectures are designed both to cover the material in the textbook and to amplify it. So the textbook and lectures are tightly coupled. One way in which the lectures amplify the text is by the use of animations that I created to bring to life some of the content presented in the textbook illustrations. I also have made PDFs of the PowerPoint lectures available on CU Learn. These can be downloaded onto your computer and printed out. The recorded lectures however cannot be downloaded. I also assigned a very readable book, Memories are Made of This, by Rousiko Bourtchaladze that provides and excellent and broad overview of the field. I assign this book on the assumption that most of you do not have a broad perspective on memory and will find this book enjoyable. You will have to turn in brief summaries of the chapters in this book.

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Learning Philosophy and Self-assessments I believe in the principle--that if you want to really learn you need to take a lot of tests and practice outputting what you think you know. This will reveal your knowledge gaps. Consistent with this belief, I have created a large amount of test material in the form self-assessments. Self-assessments for the material covered in each chapter and lecture are available on CU learn. By repeatedly taking these assessments you will become aware of what you know and don’t known. Success in this course depends on you rapidly acquiring a new vocabulary that is needed to understand the concepts and principles that will be discussed. These self-assessments can play an important role in helping you acquire this new vocabulary. You will not be graded on the self-assessments. They are provided to allow you to monitor your progress in understanding the material. Glossary and Study Guide In addition, the Glossary provided in the textbook also provides a convenient way to check on your understanding of the many of the key terms. I have also made a set of study guide questions for each chapter available on CU Learn. Evaluation Exams. I also embrace the take tests to learn philosophy in developing the exams. There will be 5 exams plus a final exam. The 6 exams are constructed so that you will be tested at least twice on the material from each chapter. The one exception to this principle is that Chapters 15 and 16 will only be covered on the Final exam. The final exam is cumulative. It covers all of the material presented in the text and lectures. Repeated testing on the same material will encourage you to continually review all the material so that by the end of the course you should be well prepared for the final and only need to review the material. Reading Assignment. The reading assignments also contribute to your final grade. Blog. You will be required to write and submit a blog that discusses a paper that you have identified as making an important contribute to either our understanding of synaptic plasticity or to the neurobiology of memory. The detail instructions for this assignment will be forthcoming. Recorded Lectures The lectures that are available on CU learn were recorded from the course I taught in the Spring 2011 semester. They are not edited and in some so they represent exactly what happens in class. The lectures are in complete synchrony with the textbook and are design to facilitate your understanding of the material presented in the textbook.

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Note that these lectures cannot be downloaded so you will need to have access to the Internet to view them. Advice I strongly advise that you read each chapter prior to listening to the lecture. This will enable you to more fully benefit from the material presented in the lectures Some lectures will include new material because this field is extremely dynamic. Where this is the case supplementary material is posted on CU Learn. I encourage you to take full advantage of the self-assessments that are available on CU learn. A Strong Word of Caution This will be a challenging course and will require a significant effort on your part. If you have signed up for this course just because it fits your schedule and/or you need an elective, you might begin to look for another course. Last semester out of 50 students who originally registered for the course 15 dropped it because of the workload, and one student who remained did not a receive passing grade. However, if you are interested in the content of this course and prepared to work I expect that you will have an enjoyable experience and learn a lot. Disabilities: I encourage students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury and attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, psychiatric disabilities, to discuss with me, after class or during my office hours, appropriate accommodations. Honor Code: Please note that I believe that a person’s integrity is one of their most important attributes. Consequently, I fully support the University’s Honor Code: if I find that someone has cheated on an exam (e.g. looking at someone else’s exam) or on the research paper (e.g. plagiarism) I will give that person an “F” for the course and file a report of academic dishonesty with the Dean’s office.

COURSE MATERIAL (available at UMC Book Store and Colorado Book store) Rudy, J.W. (2008) The Neurobiology of learning and memory. Sinauer It can also be rented by going to CU Neuroscience web site, http://coursestreet.com/buff_brain_books/ Bourtchouladze, R. (2002). Memories are Made of This. New York: Columbia University Press. This book is required. It provides a broad and very readable introduction to the topic of memory. This book can be purchase at the CU Bookstore. Class WEB Site: CU learn All course material will be available on the CU Learn Web site. This includes

• Recorded lectures (cannot be downloaded • PDFS of the lectures (can be downloaded)

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• Study Guide (can be downloaded) • Self assessments that will allow you to test yourself of the course material • Supplementary material (can be downloaded) • Discussion Box

GRADING Exams 95% of you Final Grade will be determined by your performance on the 6 exams. The Schedule of exams is presented in the table below entitled Exam Schedule* and Values Bourtchouladze Summaries 5% or your final grade is based on the summaries of the Bourtchouladze book, Memories are Made of This has seven chapters. You will have to hand in a 1-page word summary of each chapter. They will be graded pass/fail. Summaries should be sent to my email address, Jrudy@colorado.edu, as a word file. You should title you document file using your last name and assignment number. Thus for the first assignment if you name is John Doe, your document should be titled Doe Assignment 1.doc. The assignment due dates are presented in the table below, entitled, Exam Schedule* and Values Exam Schedule* and Values Exams Date Covers Value 1 Sept 8 Chapts 1-2 5% 2 Sept 27 Chaps 1-5 15% 3 Oct 13 Chapts 3-8 15% 4 Oct 28 Chapts 5-10 15% 5 Nov 17 Chapts 9-14 15% Final Weds Dec 14,

4:30PM All material 28%

Bourtchouladze Book

Aug 30 Sept 6 Sept 13 Sept 27

Chaps 1 & 2 Chaps 3 &4 Chaps 5& 6 Chap 7

4%

Blog Nov Dec 1 3%

Optional Term Paper You will have the option of writing a term paper for extra credit. A successful paper can change your final grade by .5 letter (e.g. D to C-) grade. If you wish to pursue this option you will need to discuss a topic with me by Nov 18. The paper will be due Dec. 7. The rules for the paper are described at the end of the syllabus

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THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY

JERRY W. RUDY

Course Outline We will cover roughly one topic/book chapter a weak. I. Introduction: Fundamental Concepts and Historical Foundations Part I Synaptic Basis of Memories II. Mechanisms of Synaptic Plasticity: Introduction III. Strengthening Synapses: Assembling Existing Parts IV. Strengthening Synapses: Generating New Material V. Calcium: The Master Plasticity Molecule VI. Dendritic Spines: The Dynamic Relationship between Structure and

Function Part II Molecules and Memories VII. Making Memories: Conceptual Issues and Methods VIII. Basics of Memory Formation IX. Basics of Memory Storage X. Memory Modulation Processes XI. The Fate of Retrieved Memories Part 3 Neural Systems and Memory XII. Memory Systems and The Hippocampus XIII. The Hippocampus Index and Episodic Memory XIV. Ribot’s Law, Systems Consolidation and the Hippocampus XVI. Actions, Habits and the Cortical-Striatal System XVI. Learning about Danger: The Neurobiology of Fear Memories

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Research Paper For the research paper I want you to pick an interesting question/issue that is directly related to the topic. In your research paper I want you to discuss in detail 3 research reports that you have read related to your topic. These research reports need to be primary reports of scientific empirical studies (reports that include the Methods and Data/Results of a research project) that are published in scientific journals, i.e. you need to read the original reports, not just review papers that discuss the original reports. You should, however, supplement your paper with additional information that you obtain from books and review papers related to your topic (see Bibliography and Citations below). Your paper should be 8-10 pages double spaced. I'd like you to divide your paper into 3 sections. (20 points) Section 1: Introduction and Background (2-3 pages). Introduce the topic of your paper. Describe the question/issue that you have chosen to research. Why is this question/issue important to study? Does it have theoretical importance? Does it have practical or applied importance? How does this question/issue pertain to our course in which we are studying hormone/behavior interactions? What in general is already known about your topic (i.e. what are the results of research besides the 3 studies that you are reviewing?). Give the reader any additional background information/education that they will need to be able to fully appreciate your paper. Assume that your audience is a fellow classmate in our Neurobiology of Learning and Memory class. Define any key terms or concepts that we have not covered in class. (45 points) Section 2: Review of Related Research Reports (3+ pages). In this section review each of the 3 empirical studies that you have read. Importantly, please attach a photocopy of the first page of each article to the back of your paper if they are different from the ones that you attached with your outline (see below). For each study: 1) describe the purpose/aim of the study. i.e. what was the research question, or what was the study trying to find out? 2) what was the researcher's hypothesis? i.e. what did the authors predict or suggest would be the outcome of their study? Note, some studies may be more "descriptive" in nature, and consequently the authors may not offer a hypothesis. Instead the authors may merely state that they wanted to find out what will happen if they do such and such. If this is the case, state it. 3) what was the rationale for the hypothesis? What reason do the authors give for making the hypothesis that they make? Or, if there is not a hypothesis, what reason do the authors give for why they did what they did? 4) give a brief description of the experimental design/procedure. Important details are who/what were the subjects. How were subjects selected. What was the experimental procedure. What were the independent variables and what were the dependent variables (I will deduct points if you don’t include this, or don’t state it correctly). Anything else that you think is important for understanding the particular study.

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5) what were the basic results. This doesn't need to be much more detailed than the description of the results that the authors included in the abstract (but use your own words!). So, no need to report numbers, etc. Instead describe the basic effects, e.g. "there was a large increase in the number of words that were recalled by individuals treated with snake oil". 6) what conclusions did the authors make from their data? 7) do the data support the conclusions? Can you think of flaws in the experimental design that may lead to confounding effects. Can you think of alternative hypotheses or explanations that fit the data as well as the author's conclusions/interpretations? (20 points) Section 3: Conclusion (2-4 pages). In this section make an attempt to be especially sophisticated and insightful! Essentially all you have to do to accomplish this is to thoughtfully discuss the impact that the 3 studies you have chosen have made on the research question/issue that is the focus of your paper. Have these studies led to new information? Have these studies led to a better model for thinking about the question/issue? Are the studies consistent with each other? Perhaps by integrating/synthesizing the results of these studies you can propose a new model not discussed in any of the papers that you have read on the topic. Finally, what do you recommend that future studies on this topic should examine? What remains unresolved? (5 points) Bibliography and Citations: Your bibliography (reference list) should include the 3 articles that you have reviewed as well as any other articles/books that you have read and refer to within your paper. Within the text cite only articles/books that you have read (or at least skimmed). So, every article/book in your bibliography should be cited somewhere in the text, and conversely, every cited article/book in your text should also appear in your bibliography. I expect that you will need to use 8-15 sources for your paper. (10 points) Overall mechanics of the paper: Make sure that your paper is well formatted, that all words are properly spelled, and that you have used good grammar. Take pride in your work! Finally, don't use quotations. You should always be able to adequately paraphrase what someone else writes.